Arts groups add extras to build audiences

Pull a lever and out pops a work of art. Meet Art-o-mat! -- art for the instant gratification generation.

Vending machines are among the many innovations that arts organizations are embracing in an attempt to grow their audiences. From smart-phone apps and pre-theater commercials to specialty cocktails in your seat, these programs fly in the face of artistic convention. While purists bemoan the cheapening of the aesthetic experience, others say it's a sign of times: The arts, like most sectors of the economy, must evolve or die.

"Our industry is facing a severe sustainability crisis," says Kathryn Jones, CEO of VirtualArtsTV, which has developed a performance art app. "If speaking to today's audiences via the technology they are already using will help to build more demand for the performing arts then I think we are doing the industry a terrible disservice by refusing to try."

Some of these projects spark controversy but this much is clear: a revolution in the way we think about art is underway. The old rules are falling away in favor of fresh new approaches that aim to demystify the arts.

"Some people think this is a fad, something with a short shelf life, but it's not," says Clark Whittington, creator of the Art-o-mat. "Art should reach out to the public."

This trend is culture made easy. Consider the Art-o-mat, a revamped cigarette dispenser that makes art affordable and fun. The machine dispenses tiny pieces of art, from stained glass to clay sculptures, that fit in your hand and cost only $5 a pop. There are now 100 Art-o-mats in the country.

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"This way anyone can be an art collector," says Whittington, who will unveil Art-o-mats ﻿at the American Conservatory Theater's Costume Shop theater on Monday and at San Francisco's Exploratorium Tuesday. "It's as democratic as you get."

Jones also believes you should give the audience what it wants. Her company has launched an arts app that lets viewers watch live-streamed performances on their handhelds. The app also encourages viewers to tweet while watching.

"Our audience often comments how much they love that they are drinking wine at home or snuggled in bed," she notes. "I also am very happy that no matter where you live, as long as you have an Internet connection, you now have access to the arts."

Indeed, if cost and location are no issue, a whole new generation of arts lovers may be born. Santa Clara University student Darren Keith Velasco says apps will get young people in the door.

"It can introduce folks who are just curious and could possibly convert them," says Velasco, a theater fan. "I really love the idea, especially as a student who can't make it to every event."

American Conservatory Theater's Art-o-Mat vending machine lures company publicist Kevin Kopjak at the "Costume Shop Theater" in San Francisco on April 2, 2013. (Karl Mondon/Staff)

Accessibility is key. Take concessions. In the past, most arts groups held to the prim tradition of no eating and drinking in your seat. Now many troupes, from ACT to San Jose Stage don't just allow drinks, they tempt theatergoers with fancy themed cocktails. During "Persuasion" at SJ Stage, you are invited to sip a dainty Lady Jane Martini or a cup of tea and nibble on a scone during the 19th century Jane Austen classic.

"I think it's a wonderful way to make people feel at home," says director Amy Glazer. "Not letting people eat and drink is too stuffy and posh."

Of course, you'll have to put the booze down if you want to tweet your posse. Companies like San Francisco Playhouse and San Jose's City Lights have experimented with tweet seats, spots where you are allowed to check in on Twitter and Facebook during the show. While many see social media as free publicity, others worry it's a huge distraction.

"If you are tweeting, you are neither suspending disbelief nor fully engaging in the moment," says Susie Medak, managing director of Berkeley Rep.

Certainly, when ACT raised the curtain on its new commercials, which are projected above the stage before the show, reactions were mixed. Some applauded ACT's attempt to pitch its programs in a new way.

"You've got to give them credit, that takes guts," says Michael Butler of Center Rep in Walnut Creek. "It's much easier to play it safe."

Others were offended by seeing advertising on stage.

"When I walk into a theater I feel as though I am walking into some sort of sacred space," says Medak. "I love that sense of having stepped inside from the mundane into something that is potentially magical ... And I resent anything that undermines that."

Ellen Richard, managing director at ACT, says the last thing they want to do is turn off patrons. The goal is to give the audience "coming attractions." She is open to tweaking the project.

"We will definitely listen to the audience," says Richard, "and if the groundswell is negative, we won't do it."

Of course, experimentation often raises the hackles of traditionalists. Whittington has taken heat from the art world but he shrugs it off as resistance to change.

"Sure, I have heard derogatory remarks," he admits, "but mostly from proper and rigid folks, the 'Downton Abbey' types. We have struck a nerve with them but we have also struck a chord with people who never before bought a piece of art."

That's why Richard got an Art-o-mat for ACT, to encourage new ways of thinking about the arts.

"It's the coolest machine ever," says Richard, "I have found wonderful things and some not so wonderful, but at $5, it doesn't matter. Anyone can participate."

That's the holy grail for the arts. If you can attract new audiences, you ensure that your organization will survive into the future. Call it Art 2.0.

"Today's audiences want to experience their art in new ways," as Jones puts it, "and our industry will continue to suffer if we don't listen to them."